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rogram  of  E  xercises 

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JlNGOLN 


1909 


IMF 


I  I B 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

OSBORN  H.  OLDROYD 

1908 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

OSBORN  H.  OLDROYD 

1908 


COPYRIGHT 


BERESFORD,  PR  , 
City  op  Washington. 


PREFACE. 


A  Century  will  have  passed  on  the  12th  of  February,  1909,  since  the 
birth  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  suitable  arrangements  ought  to  be  made 
to  commemorate  such  an  important  anniversary. 

No  American  in  history  is  so  close  to  the  hearts  of  the  American 
people.  The  observance  of  this  Centennial  should  be  made  popular 
throughout  the  United  States,  for  Lincoln  alone,  of  all  the  mighty  group 
of  which  he  -was  the  central  figure,  died  mourned  by  South  as  well  as 


North. 

I  bespeak  for  this  Program,  which  contains  so  much  patriotism  and 
material,  all  of  which  will  have  a  decided  tendency  to  add  additional 
fervor  to  our  already  exalted  opinion  of  Lincoln,  a  large  circulation 
among  Grand  Army  Posts,  Womans’  Relief  Corps,  Public  and  Private 
Schools,  and  all  patriotic  and  charitable  societies  and  institutions  in  our 


broad  land. 


OSBORN  H.  OLDROYD. 


The  House  in  which  Lincoln  Died. 
City  of  Washington ,  1908. 


•PROGRAM 


•  • 


i. — CALLING  THE  MEETING  TO  ORDER  by  the  Chairman. 


2.— PRAYER. 


3. — AMERICA — By  the  Audience. 


WORDS  BY  SAMUEL  F.  SMITH. 

First  sung  at  a  children’s  meeting  at  Boston,  July  4,  1832. 


My  country,  ’tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 

Of  thee  I  sing  ; 

Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  the  pilgrim’s  pride, 
From  every  mountain  side 
Let  freedom  ring. 

My  native  country,  thee, 

Land  of  the  noble,  free, 

Thy  name  I  love  ; 

I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 

Thy  woods  and  templed  hills  ; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 
Like  that  above. 


Let  music  swell  the  breeze, 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees, 
Sweet  freedom’s  song  ; 

Let  mortal  tongues  awake, 
Let  all  that  breathe  partake, 
Let  rocks  their  silence  break. 
The  sound  prolong. 

Our  father’s  God  to  thee, 
Author  of  liberty, 

To  thee  I  sing  ; 

Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom’s  holy  light ; 
Protect  us  by  thy  might, 
Great  God  our  King. 


4 


5 


4.— THE  BOYHOOD  OF  LINCOLN 

The  early  life  of  Lincoln  gives  no  suggestion  of  his  subsequent 
prominence.  His  parents  were  among  the  poorest  of  the  settlers  of  a 
sterile  section  of  the  State  of  Kentucky ;  it  was  necessary  for  them  to 
work  hard  and  live  cheaply;  their  children  had  to  do  the  same. 

During  his  boyhood  Abraham  Lincoln  was  very  popular  among  the 
simple  hard-working  pioneers.  He  had  a  kind  .heart  and  could  sympa¬ 
thize  with  any  person  in  trouble,  even  with  beasts  and  birds.  He  was 
intolerant  of  any  injustice  and  was  a  true  Knight,  although  he  wore  blue- 
jean  trousers.  This  sympathy  for  others  grew.  Once  he  heard  some 
birds  uttering  plaintive  sounds,  and  discovered  that  a  birdling  had  fallen 
from  its  nest ;  although  in  great  haste,  he  took  time  to  climb  the  tree 
and  replace  the  bird.  Similar  incidents  of  his  gentle  nature  are  numer¬ 
ous  and  show  why  he  was  so  popular  as  a  boy,  and  in  later  years  became 
a  most  popular  man.  Robert  Burns  was  a  popular  boy.  Why  ?  Read 
his  “  Lines  to  a  meadow  mouse”  which  he  had  accidentally  ploughed  out 
of  the  ground.  Henry  Havelock  was  a  popular  boy.  Why  ?  Because 
he  was  chivalrous.  He  led  boys  at  school  in  the  same  high  spirit  as  he 
afterward  led  the  English  army  in  India. 

Lincoln,  although  powerful  in  mind  and  body,  attended  school  less, 
than  one  year  during  his  entire  life.  He  had  not  time.  He  had  to  add 
the  pittance  earned  by  his  strong,  young  arms  to  family  living,  which  was 
poor  enough  even  then.  Yet  with  this  slight  education  as  a  beginning, 
he  continued  to  grow  in  strength  and  wisdom.  He  studied  at  night, 
having  no  other  time,  figuring  on  the  backs  of  wooden  shovels,  slabs  and 
boards,  with  charcoal,  having  no  other  light  than  that  of  a  flickering  fire 
in  the  old-fashioned  fireplace.  Perhaps  it  was  the  memory  of  his  own 
neglected  childhood  that  in  later  years  made  him  so  kind  and  considerate 
of  those  about  him.  Even  the  lowest  of  animals  called  forth  his  tender 
sympathy.  Through  myriad  trials  and  disappointments,  onward  and 
upward  from  lowliest  childhood  to  leadership  of  a  great  and  powerful 
Nation,  his  entire  life  says  “courage,  courage,”  to  every  boy  and  girl. 

When  Abraham  Lincoln  was  eight  years  of  age  his  father  moved  to 
the  State  of  Indiana,  and  in  this  new  home  the  little  boy,  who  was  after¬ 
ward  to  become  the  leading  citizen  of  the  Nation,  slept  for  months  upon 
a  hard  mud  floor.  Skins  of  animals  were  hung  at  the  doors  and  over  the 
windows,  and  these  were  the  only  protection  from  the  cold  winter  winds. 

The  days  of  young  Lincoln  in  Indiana  were  spent  in  hard  work  when 
it  was  to  be  had.  He  was  a  poor  boy  looking  out  for  a  job,  and  any¬ 
thing  that  earned  an  honest  living  was  good  enough  for  him.  He  pulled 
corn  for  the  neighbors,  he  split  rails,  the  same  as  hundreds  of  other  boys, 
ran  a  flatboat  about  three  months  for  a  neighbor.  No  one  in  that  section 
of  the  country  at  that  time  imagined  that  young  Lincoln  would  make 
his  mark  some  day;  but  after  he  became  President  of  the  United  States 
you  couldn’t  find  a  man  in  Spencer  County  who  hadn’t  eaten  mush 
out  of  the  same  pot  and  with  the  same  spoon  as  “Abe”  Lincoln. 

When  he  was  nine  years  of  age  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  good 
mother  by  death,  which  was  his  first  great  sorrow.  Lincoln  was  ten¬ 
derly  devoted  to  his  mother.  Whatever  was  bright  in  the  earlier  life  of 
young  Lincoln  came  to  him  through  his  mother.  She  read  the  Bible  to 
him,  and  of  this  book  in  after  years  he  said  •  “In  regard  to  the  great 
Book  I  have  only  to  say  that  it  is  the  best  gift  that  God  has  given  man. 
All  the  good  from  the  Saviour  of  the  world  is  communicated  to  us 


6 


through  this  Book.  But  for  this  Book  we  could  not  know  right  from 
wrong.’ '  Lincoln  said  once,  “  All  I  have  and  am  I  owe  to  my  mother.” 

Happily  for  the  two  Lincoln  children,  their  father’s  second  choice  of 
a  wife  fell  upon  Mrs.  Sallie  Johnson,  a  widow,  who  brought  brightness 
and  comfort  with  her  into  the  humble  home.  She  came  as  an  angel  of 
light  to  the  two  motherless  children,  and  her  coming  was  attended  by 
rays  of  real  sunshine  which  entered  into  their  young  lives. 

Abraham  Lincoln  earned  his  first  dollar  when  about  eighteen  years 
of  age,  by  taking  two  men  and  their  trunks  by  boat  out  to  a  steamer  in 
the  Mississippi  River,  for  which  they  gave  him  a  silver  half  dollar  each. 
Mr.  Lincoln  afterward  said:  “I  could  scarcely  believe  my  eyes  as  I 
picked  up  the  money.  It  was  a  most  important  incident  in  my  life.  I 
could  scarcely  believe  that  I,  a  poor  boy,  had  earned  a  dollar  in  less  than 
a  day — that  by  honest  work  I  had  earned  a  dollar.  The  world  seemed 
wider  and  fairer  before  me.  I  was  a  more  hopeful  and  confident  being 
from  that  time.” 

The  Lincoln  family  bade  adieu  to  their  Indiana  home  in  1830  and 
started  on  a  two  weeks’  journey  across  great  hills,  swamps,  and  through 
dense  forests,  until  they  reached  a  spot  on  the  Sangamon  River,  in  the 
State  of  Illinois.  Here  a  log  cabin  was  built,  and  Lincoln  then  split  the 
rails  that  afterward  enclosed  and  surrounded  the  cabin  and  ten  acres  of 
ground.  A  little  later  he  became  of  age,  and  left  this  home  to  go  forth 
into  the  world  and  battle  for  himself.  His  rail-splitting  days  were  draw¬ 
ing  to  a  close,  and  the  larger  duties  of  life  began  to  open  before  him. 

Charles  Sumner  says  :  “  These  rails  have  become  classical  in  our  his¬ 
tory,  and  the  name  of  ‘  railsplitter’  has  been  more  than  the  degree  of  a 
college.  Not  that  the  splitting  of  rails  is  especially  meritorious,  but 
because  the  people  are  proud  to  trace  aspiring  talent  to  humble  begin¬ 
nings,  and  because  they  found  in  their  tribute  a  new  opportunity  for 
vindicating  the  dignity  of  free  labor.” 

Lincoln’s  strong  common  sense,  undaunted  patriotism  and  wise 
statesmanship  have  left  an  impress  on  our  institutions  which  will  never 
be  effaced  so  long  as  this  is  Freedom’s  throne. 

While  the  Ship  of  State  was  buffeting  the  fierce  storms,  he  stood  calm 
as  Columbus,  disregarding  the  clamors  of  the  discontented,  and,  with 
compass  in  hand,  measured  with  steady  glance  wind  and  sail,  and  steered 
toward  the  peaceful  haven  of  Union  and  Freedom. 

5.— SONG— THE  STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER. 

Words  by  Francis  Scott  Key,  1814. 

Oh  !  say,  can  you  see  by  the  dawn’s  early  light 
What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight’s 
last  gleaming — 

Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars  through  the 
perilous  fight, 

O’er  the  ramparts  we  watched,  were  so  gallant¬ 
ly  streaming  ! 

And  the  rockets’  red  glare,  the  bombs  bursting 
in  air, 

Gave  proof  through  the  night  that  our  flag  was  still  there  ; 

Oh  !  say,  does  that  Star  Spangled  Banner  yet  wave 
O’er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ! 


®1}C  National 


joiin  Mcelroy 

,  Editor. 

Ollice:  519  Thirteenth 

Street  N. 

W. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C-, 

DEC.  17, 

1908. 

LINCOLN  PROGRAM. 

Capt.  Oldroyd’s  Book  a  Great  Success, 
and  Instant  Help. 

Capt.  O.  H.  Oldroyd  has  reason  to  be 
proud  of  the  tremendous  popularity  of 
his  Lincoln  Birthday  anniversary  pro¬ 
gram.  It  was  exactly  what  every  pa¬ 
triotic  person  wanted,  and  is  a  gem  of 
Lincoln  reminiscences  if  you  never 
wanted  to  use  a  line  of  it  as  a  program., 
Capt.  Oldroyd  felt  that  his  program 
ought  to  be  full  enough  so  that  busy 
men  would  not  have  to  take  time  to 
hunt  up  the  memoranda  for  a  speech, 
and  has  managed  to  get  into  the  20 
pages  of  his  program  the  exact  poems, 
songs,  fragments  of  speeches  of  Lin¬ 
coln,  including  his  Gettysburg  address, 
which  has  become  a  classic  in  almost 
every  written  language,  with  the  story 
of  his  boyhood,  another  of  his  early 
manhood,  and  still  another  of  him  as 
President.  It  is  a  rarely  good  book 
just  to  read. 

Some  of  the  letters  which  Capt.  Old¬ 
royd  is  getting  about  the  centenary  of 
Lincoln  are  most  encouraging  for  those 
who  love  the  very  name  of  the  Nation’s 
greatest  man.  P.  J.  Kline,  one  of  the 
Ohio  Patriotic  Instructors  of  the  G.  A. 
R.,  has  written  Capt.  Oldroyd  for  150 
of  the  programs,  which  he  intends  to 
present  to  each  of  the  Scioto  County 
schools.  Henry  P.  Fisher,  of  Wauke¬ 
sha,  Wis.,  agrees  to  purchase  from  Capt. 
Oldroyd  a  program  for  every  child  in 
Waukesha  who  takes  part  in  centenary 
exercises.  John  Dean,  of  Litchfield, 
Mich.,  ordered  several  dozen  copies  for 
the  schools  of  his  city.  Department 
Commander  Rosenbaum,  of  Illinois,  or¬ 
dered  100  copies  to  distribute  in 
schools  and  Posts  of  the  Grand  Army. 
Hundreds  of  County  Superintendents 
have  ordered  in  500  lots  for  their 
schools,  and  Posts  of  the  Grand  Army 
Relief  Corps,  bodies  of  the  G.  A.  R., 
and  other  patriotic  bodies  all  over  the 
country  are  getting  copies  by  the  hun¬ 
dred  to  place  in  the  schools  as  part  of 
their  patriotic  work. 

Commander-in-Chief  Nevius  thinks 
the  program  is  a  wonderful  affair,  and 
he  ordered  100  copies  to  place  in  the 
school  which  he  attended  as  a  boy. 

In  the  whole  20  pages  there  is  not  a 
single  line  of  sectionalism.  Those  in 
the  South  who  esteemed  Lincoln,  tho 
they  hated  what  he  stood  for,  could  use 
every  line,  paragraph,  song  and  speech 
in  the  book.  It  teaches  love  of  God,  of 
man,  of  country,  of  flag,  of  National 
institutions  as  Lincoln  lived  and  taught 
those  things.  The  first  edition  is  now 
exhausted  and  great  inroads  made  on 
the  second  one. 

Capt.  Oldroyd  is  Assistant  Adjutant 
General  of  the  Department  of  Poto¬ 
mac,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and 
interested  and  active  in  all  patriotic 
work. 

The  price  of  this  edition  has  been  placed 
at  10  cents  per  copy,  $1  per  dozen,  or  $5 
per  100. 

Orders  sent,  prepaid,  on  receipt  of  price. 

Communications  should  be  addressed  to 

O.  H.  OLDROYD, 

516  Tenth  Street,  N.  W. 

Washington,  D..  C. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/centenaryofbirth00oldr_0 


7 


On  the  shore  dimly  seen  through  the  mists  of  the  deep, 

Where  the  foe’s  haughty  host  in  dread  silence  reposes, 

What  is  that  which  the  breeze,  o’er  the  towering  steep, 

As  it  fitfully  blows,  half  conceals,  half  discloses  ! 

Now  it  catches  the  gleam  of  the  morning’s  first  beam, 

In  full  glory  reflected,  now  shines  on  the  stream  ; 

’Tis  the  Star  Spangled  Banner!  O!  long  may  it  wave 
O’er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ! 

And  where  is  that  band  who  so  vauntingly  swore 
That  the  havoc  of  war  and  the  battle’s  confusion 
A  home  and  a  country  should  leave  us  no  more  ? 

Their  blood  has  washed  out  their  foul  footsteps’  pollution 
No  refuge  could  save  the  hireling  and  slave 
From  the  terror  of  flight  or  the  gloom  of  the  grave  ; 

And  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  in  triumph  doth  wave 
O’er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave. 

Oh  !  thus  be  it  ever  when  freemen  shall  stand 
Between  their  loved  homes  and  war’s  desolation, 

Blest  with  victory  and  peace,  may  the  heaven-rescued  land 
Praise  the  Power  that  hath  made  and  preserved  us  a  nation. 
Then  conquer  we  must,  when  our  cause  it  is  just, 

And  this  be  our  motto — “  In  God  is  our  trust”  — 

And  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  in  triumph  shall  wave 
O’er  the  land  of  the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ! 


6. — RECITATION — Oh!  Why  should  the  Spirit  of  Mortal  be  Proud? 

WirriAM  Knox. 


“  There  is  a  poem,”  said  Lincoln,  “  which  has  been  a  great  favorite  with  me  for  years,  which  was 
first  shown  me  when  a  young  man  by  a  friend,  and  which  I  afterwards  saw  and  cut  from  a  newspaper 
and  learned  by  heart.  I  would  give  a  good  deal  to  know  who  wrote  it,  but  I  never  have  been  able  to 
ascertain  ”  Then,  half  closing  his  eyes,  he  repeated  the  verses. 


Oh  !  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 

Like  a  swift  flitting  meteor,  a  fast  flying  cloud, 

The  flash  of  the  lightning,  a  break  of  the  wave, 

He  passes  from  life  to  his  rest  in  the  grave. 

The  leaves  of  the  oak  and  the  willow  shall  fade, 

Be  scattered  around  and  together  be  laid  ; 

And  the  young  and  the  old  and  the  low  and  the  high 
Shall  molder  to  dust  and  together  shall  lie. 

The  infant  a  mother  attended  and  loved, 

The  mother  that  infant’s  affection  who  proved, 

The  husband  that  mother  and  infant  who  blest, 

Each,  all  are  away  to  their  dwellings  of  rest. 

The  maid  on  whose  cheek,  on  whose  brow,  in  whose  eye, 
Shone  beauty  and  pleasure,  her  triumphs  are  by  ; 

And  the  mem’ry  of  those  who  loved  her  and  praised 
Are  alike  from  the  minds  of  the  living  erased. 

The  hand  of  the  king  that  the  scepter  hath  borne, 

The  brow  of  the  priest  that  the  miter  hath  worn, 

The  eye  of  the  sage  and  the  heart  of  the  brave 
Are  hidden  and  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  grave. 

The  peasant  whose  lot  was  to  sow  and  to  reap, 

The  herdsman  who  climbed  with  his  goats  up  the  steep, 
The  beggar  who  wandered  in  search  of  his  bread, 

Have  faded  away  like  the  grass  that  we  tread. 


8 


The  saint  who  enjoyed  the  communion  of  heaven, 

The  sinner  who  dared  to  remain  unforgiven, 

The  wise  and  the  foolish,  the  guilty  and  just, 

Have  quietly  mingled  their  bones  in  the  dust. 

So  the  multitude  goes  like  the  flower  or  the  weed 
That  withers  away  to  let  others  succeed  , 

So  the  multitude  comes,  even  those  we  behold, 

To  repeat  every  tale  that  has  often  been  told. 

For  we  are  the  same  that  our  fathers  have  been  ; 

We  see  the  same  sights  our  fathers  have  seen  ; 

We  drink  the  same  streams,  and  view  the  same  sun, 

And  run  the  same  course  our  fathers  have  run. 

The  thoughts  we  are  thinking  our  fathers  would  think, 
From  the  death  we  are  shrinking  our  fathers  would  shrink  ; 
To  the  life  we  are  clinging  they  also  would  cling, 

But  it  speeds  from  us  all  like  a  bird  on  the  wing. 

They  loved,  but  the  story  we  cannot  unfold  ; 

They  scorned,  but  the  heart  of  the  haughty  is  cold  ; 

They  grieved,  but  no  wail  from  their  slumber  will  come  ; 
They  joyed,  but  the  tongue  of  their  gladness  is  dumb. 

They  died,  ay,  they  died.  We  things  that  are  now, 

That  walk  on  the  turf  that  lies  over  their  brow, 

And  make  in  their  dwellings  a  transient  abode, 

Meet  the  things  that  they  met  on  their  pilgrimage  road. 

Yea,  hope  and  despondencv,  pleasure  and  pain, 

Are  mingled  together  in  sunshine  and  rain  ; 

And  the  smile  and  the  tear,  the  song  and  the  dirge, 

Still  follow  each  other  like  surge  upon  surge. 

’Tis  the  wink  of  an  eye,  ’tis  the  draught  of  a  breath, 

From  the  blossom  of  health  to  the  paleness  of  death, 

From  the  gilded  salon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud — 

Oh,  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 


7. — WHAT  MADE  LINCOLN  GREAT. 

What  made  Lincoln  great  ?  He  was  ever  actuated  by  a  desire  to  do 
just  right,  leaving  the  consequences  to  God.  He  had,  in  a  very  remark¬ 
able  degree,  that  “hard  common  sense”  by  means  of  which  he  could 
detect  the  most  subtle  sophistry  and  penetrate  the  deepest  disguise.  He 
was  called  upon  to  meet  the  greatest  issues  ever  presented  to  the  Amer¬ 
ican  people,  but  he  grappled  with  National  questions  of  the  gravest 
concern.  It  required  the  exercise  of  more  wisdom  and  the  test  of  greater 
courage  than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  our  Nation. 

His  youth,  spent  in  the  solitude  of  the  forest,  had  much  to  do  with 
making  Abraham  Lincoln  great.  It  was  a  rude  school,  but  it  was 
there  that  his  sturdy,  bold  and  independent  character  was  formed,  and 
it  was  there  that  he  acquired  his  wonderful  insight  into  the  great  heart 
of  the  common  people  which  made  him  their  chosen  leader.  He  was 
placed  in  that  rude  hut  only  to  be  called  in  future  years  to  guide  the 
American  people  through  a  dark  and  bloody  war.  Abraiiam  Lincoln 
was  great  because  he  was  good.  From  his  boyhood  he  had  endeavored 
to  be  faithful  to  every  duty  of  the  hour.  He  tried  to  discover  what  was 
really  right  and  to  hold  fast  to  it  He  was  eager  for  truth  in  every 
instance,  and  what,  in  justice,  should  be  done  concerning  every  matter. 
In  every  doubtful  instance  he  became  the  advocate  of  that  cause  which 
his  conscience  and  his  principles  told  him  should  prevail.  He  was  hum¬ 
ble  in  spirit  ;  willing  to  profit  by  the  advice  of  others  ;  ready  to  atone 
for  a  fault  or  error  if  he  had  committed  one,  and,  above  all,  he  was  pious 


9 


enough  and  brave  enough  to  acknowledge  his  dependence  on  the  merciful 
aud  mighty  God,  whose  goodness  many  men  are  only  too  apt  to  forget 
when  they  become  prosperous  and  powerful. 

The  chief  attribute  of  Lincoln’s  greatness  was,  perhaps,  the  readiness 
with  which  he  could  see  and  grasp  the  right,  coupled  with  his  heroic 
sturdiness  to  go  forward  in  the  pathway  of  duty.  When  once  fixed  in 
his  mind  what  that  duty  was,  no  power  on  earth  could  make  him  deviate 
one  jot  or  tittle  from  his  line  of  policy  ;  yet  he  was  too  honest  to  have  an 
atom  of  self  esteem  or  to  think  that  he  was  infallible.  Upon  any  ques¬ 
tion  he  was  ever  open  to  conviction  by  argument,  and,  if  the  views  pre¬ 
sented  by  others  were  obviously  better  than  his  own,  he  was  quick  to 
acknowledge  the  fact  and  equally  quick  to  commend.  Abraham  Lin¬ 
coln  did  not  believe  in  the  frequent  assertion  that  “  might  makes  right.” 
He  was  firm  as  a  rock,  and  possessed  of  unequaled  moral  courage,  which 
enabled  him  to  perform  conscientiously  every  duty  devolving  upon  him, 
although  many  times  his  great  heart  was  troubled  ;  yet  his  life  was 
greatly  sweetened  with  that  gentle,  tender,  yearning  sympathy  for  others 
which  was  characteristic  of  the  man  and  which  guided  all  his  movements 
through  life. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  also  great  in  that  he  possessed  the  faculty  of 
expressing  more  in  fewer  words  than  almost  any  man  of  contemporaneous 
period.  As  an  instance  of  this  peculiar  quality  an  incident  which  occurred 
during  the  dedication  of  the  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg  may  be  mentioned. 
Hon.  Edward  Everett  was  orator  of  the  day,  and  swayed  his  great  audi¬ 
ence  at  his  will  by  his  eloquence.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  address  he 
was  heartily  congratulated  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  to  whom  he  replied  :  “Ah, 
Mr.  President,  gladly  would  I  exchange  my  entire  hundred  pages  to  have 
been  the  author  of  your  twenty  lines.”  That  gem  of  Abraham  Lin¬ 
coln’s  will  ever  grow  brighter  and  brighter  in  its  luster. 

Lincoln  was  also  great  because  he  was  so  richly  blessed  with  a  spirit 
of  forgiveness  rarely  seen  except  in  the  lives  of  those  who  wholly  bury 
self  and  accept  as  their  guide  the  gentle  and  loving  Saviour,  who  cried 
out  in  His  agony  on  the  cross  :  “  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do.” 

Weighted  as  he  was  with  the  momentous  questions,  labors  and  compli¬ 
cations  which  constantly  beset  him,  he  never  permitted  himself  to  become 
so  weary  in  well  doing  that  he  failed  in  any  instance  to  extend  sympathy 
and  mercy  to  those  who  called  upon  him  in  their  distress. 

Abraham  Lincoln’s  deeds  will  live  in  every  home  where  the  children 
are  taught  to  speak  his  praise,  and  they  will  weave  his  name  in  poetry 
and  in  rich  music. 

He  ardently  loved  his  whole  country;  hating  no  one,  yearning  to  see 
the  restoration  of  the  Union,  and  fervently  prayed  that  the  former  good 
will  and  good  humor  return  to  bless  the  land. 

Possessing  the  simplicity  of  a  child  and  the  tenderness  of  a  woman,  he 
combined  in  his  nature  all  the  sterner  qualities  of  the  perfect  man.  He 
was  a  close  observer  of  men,  measures  and  events,  and  to  a  discriminat¬ 
ing  mind,  which  led  to  a  correct  judgment,  was  added  a  consciousness  of 
the  right,  and  a  moral  courage  to  perform  it,  which  enabled  him  to  exe¬ 
cute  his  honest  convictions.  Some  men  at  his  very  s-ide  chided  him  for 
slowness,  but  this  apparently  did  not  quicken  his  action,  while  others, 
equally  near  him  in  influence,  rebuked  him  for  haste,  but  this  availed 
nothing  toward  checking  his  onward  progress. 


IO 


8.— SONG— BATTLE  HYMN  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

By  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe. 

Air — "John  Brown." 

As  sung  by  Chaplain  C.  C.  McCabe  while  a  prisoner  in  Libby,  after  hearing  Old  Ben  (the  colored 
paper-seller  in  Richmond)  cry  out:  “  Great  news  by  the  telegraph  J  Great  battles  at  Gettsburgl  Union 
soldiers  gain  the  day  /”  Upon  hearing  such  glorious  news  Chaplain  McCabe  sung  this  soul-stirring 
hymn,  all  the  prisoners  joining  heartily  in  the  chorus,  making  the  old  prison  walls  ring  “  Glory, 
Glory,  Hallelujah!” 

Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord; 

He  is  tramping  out  the  vintage  where  the  grapes  of  wrath  are  stored; 
He  has  loosed  the  fateful  lightning  of  His  terrible  quick  sword; 

His  truth  is  marching  on. — Chorus. — Glory,  Glory,  Hallelujah! 

I  have  seen  Him  in  the  watch-fires  of  a  hundred  circling  camps; 

They  have  budded  Him  an  altar  in  the  evening  dews  and  damps; 

I  have  read  His  righteous  sentence  by  the  dim  and  flaring  lamps; 

His  day  is  marching  on. — Chorus. 

I  have  read  a  fiery  gospel,  writ  in  burnished  rows  of  steel, 

“  As  ye  deal  with  my  contemners,  so  with  you  my  grace  shall  deal; 

Let  the  hero  born  of  woman  crush  the  serpent  with  his  heel, 

Since  God  marching  on.” — Chorus. 

He  has  sounded  forth  the  trumpet  that  shall  never  call  retreat; 

He  is  sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men  before  His  judgment  seat; 

Oh!  be  swift,  my  soul,  to  answer  Him!  be  jubilant,  my  feet; 

Our  God  is  marching  on. — Chorus. 

In  the  beauties  of  the  lilies  Christ  was  born  across  the  sea 

With  a  glory  in  His  bosom  that  transfigures  you  and  me;  * 

As  He  died  to  make  men  holy,  let  us  die  to  make  men  free , 

While  God  is  marching  on. — Chorus. 


9.— RECITATION— 0  CAPTAIN!  MY  CAPTAIN! 

By  Walt  Whitman. 

O  Captain!  my  Captain!  our  fearful  trip  is  done; 

The  ship  has  weathered  every  rack,  the  prize  we  sought  is  won; 

The  port  is  near,  the  bells  I  hear,  the  people  all  exulting, 

While- follow  eyes  the  steady  keel,  the  vessel  grim  and  daring. 

But,  O  heart!  heart!  heart!  O  the  bleeding  drops  of  red, 

Where  on  the  deck  my  captain  lies  Fallen  cold  and  dead. 

O  Captain!  my  captain!  rise  up  and  hear  the  bells; 

Rise  up — for  you  the  flag  is  flung — for  you  the  bugle  trills; 

For  you  bouquets  and  ribbon’d  wreaths — for  you  the  shores  a-crowding; 
For  you  they  call,  the  swaying  mass,  their  eager  faces  turning. 

Here,  Captain!  dear  father!  This  arm  beneath  your  head! 

It  is  some  dream  that  on  the  deck  You’re  fallen  cold  and  dead. 

My  Captain  does  not  answer,  his  lips  are  pale  and  still: 

My  father  does  not  feel  my  arm,  he  has  no  pulse  nor  will; 

The  ship  is  anchored  safe  and  sound,  its  voyage  closed  and  done; 

From  fearful  trip  the  victor  ship  comes  in  with  object  won. 

Exult,  O  shores,  and  ring,  O  bells!  But  I  with  mournful  tread 
Walk  the  deck — my  Captain  lies  Fallen  cold  and  dead. 


10.— RECITATION— (Five  Persons.) 

No.  i. 

With  hair  disordered  and  unkept, 

With  looks  and  dress  severely  plain 
From  any  charge  of  style  exempt 
Shall  we  e’er  see  his  like  again  ? 

No.  2. 

Walked  he  among  his  fellow  men 
With  awkward  and  ungainly  gait, 

He  was  in  iooks  most  glorious,  when 
Holding  so  firm  the  helm  of  state. 

No.  3. 

Though  long  and  large  his  bony  hand 
It  penned  the  edict  grand  that  gave 
Freedom  to  all  throughout  the  land, 
Struck  every  fetter  from  the  slave. 

No.  4. 

No  love  had  he  for  courts  and  kings, 
For  emptiness  and  show  combined, 
But  sought  the  excellence  that  springs 
From  grander  domain  of  the  mind. 

No.  5. 

That  furrowed  brow  and  careworn  face 
Stamped  hrm  as  one  of  high  degree, 
In  realm  of  thought,  commanding  place 
Closely  akrn  to  Deity. 


11.— SONG— NEARER,  MY 
GOD,  TO  THEE. 

Lowell  Mason. 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Thee! 

E’en  though  it  be  a  cross 
That  raiseth  me! 

Still  all  my  song  shall  be, 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Thee! 

Though,  like  a  wanderer, 

The  sun  gone  down, 

Darkness  be  over  me, 

My  rest  a  stone, 

Yet  in  my  dreams  I’d  be 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee! 
Nearer  to  Thee! 

There  let  the  way  appear 
Steps  unto  heaven; 

All  that  thou  sendest  me 
In  mercy  given; 

Angels  to  beckon  me 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Thee! 

Then,  with  my  waking  thoughts 
Bright  with  Thy  praise, 

Out  of  my  stony  griefs 
Bethel  I’ll  raise; 

So  by  my  woes  to  be 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Thee! 


12.— BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks  were  married  on  the  12th  day  of 
June,  1806,  near  Beechland,  Kentucky.  They  lived  in  a  small  house  at 
Elizabethtown,  and  in  1807  a  daughter  was  born  to  them  who  was  called 
Sarah. 

The  next  year  they  removed  to  a  small  farm  situated  on  the  Big  South 
Fork  of  Nolin  Creek,  in  what  was  at  that  time  Hardin  and  is  now  La- 
Rue  County,  three  miles  from  Hodgensville,  and  it  was  in  this  solitary 
cabin  that  stood  in  a  desolate  spot  on  this  farm  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  born  on  the  12th  day  of  February,  1809.  Four  years  later  another 
move  wras  made,  to  a  place  more  picturesque  and  of  far  greater  fertility. 
It  was  located  six  miles  from  Hodgensville,  on  Knob  Creek,  which  flowed 
into  the  Rolling  Fork.  In  1816  Thomas  Lincoln  finally  determined  to  em¬ 
igrate,  so  made  the  journey  through  an  almost  untrodden  wilderness, 
reaching  a  point  about  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  the  village  of  Gentry- 
ville,  Indiana.  After  living  in  a  “  half-faced  camp,”  a  cabin  enclosed  on 
three  sides  and  open  on  the  fourth,  they  deserted  this  poor  excuse  for  a 
cabin  for  one  of  rough  logs.  In  the  year  1818  a  mysterious  disease, 
called  by  some  “milk  sickness,”  swept  away  many  of  the  cattle  which 


12 


had  furnished  the  necessary  milk,  as  well  as  many  of  the  people  who  had 
drank  it.  Among  these  was  Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln,  which  left  Abraham 
and  his  sister  Sarah  motherless.  Thirteen  months  later  Thomas  Lincoln 
went  to  Elizabethtown,  where  he  married  Sally  Bush  Johnson,  who  had 
rejected  him  before  his  marriage  to  Nancy  Hanks.  This  new  mother 
brought  into  the  cabin  a  goodly  supply  of  household  goods,  and  the  two 
children  were  soon  snugly  nestled  in  the  warm  beds,  for  the  first  time  in 
their  lives. 

Abraham’s  sister  was  married  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  and  died 
one  year  later.  In  the  spring  of  1830  the  Lincoln  family  removed  to 
Illinois  and  settled  near  Decatur  in  that  State. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  who  had  at  this  time  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  it  was  about  time  for  him  to 
start  in  life  on  his  own  account.  It  cost  him  much  sorrow,  however,  to 
be  compelled  to  leave  his  good  stepmother,  who  had  proved  herself  a  true 
mother  to  him.  In  the  spring  of  1831  Lincoln,  with  the  aid  of  John 
Hanks  and  John  Johnson,  constructed  a  flatboat  for  Denton  Offutt,  who 
loaded  it  with  barrels  of  pork,  hogs  and  a  quantity  of  corn,  which  cargo 
the  three  men  rafted  down  the  Sangamon  river  to  its  junction  with  the 
Illinois  river ;  down  the  latter  stream  to  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi, 
until  reaching  New  Orleans,  Louisiana.  For  this  service  the  men  were 
to  receive  fifty  cents  per  day  while  on  the  trip,  and  twenty  dollars  each 
upon  arrival  at  their  destination.  This  was  the  second  trip  of  the  kind 
that  Lincoln  had  made,  and  Offutt  was  glad  to  secure  his  sendees  at  this 
time.  Later  Lincoln  located  at  New  Salem,  a  small  village  about  twenty- 
five  miles  north  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  where  he  gained  some  renown  as 
captain  of  a  company  during  the  Blackhawk  War  in  1832,  after  which 
experience  he  was  appointed  postmaster,  still  later  becoming  a  surveyor 
and  afterward  a  general  storekeeper. 

In  the  latter  part  of  that  year  he  was  defeated  as  a  candidate  for  the 
Illinois  State  legislature  by  Peter  Cartright,  a  prominent  Methodist  pio¬ 
neer  preacher,  who  was  a  Democrat.  However,  in  the  year  1834  Lincoln 
was  elected  to  this  office,  and  reelected  for  three  successive  terms  there¬ 
after.  While  living  at  New  Salem  Lincoln  made  a  number  of  trips  afoot 
to  Springfield  in  older  to  borrow  law  books,  which  were  kindly  loaned 
him  by  Mr.  John  T.  Stuart.  After  his  removal  to  Springfield,  in  1837, 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  the  same  year  became  associated  with 
Mr.  Stuart  in  the  practice  of  law,  which  relations  continued  until  the 
14th  day  of  April,  1841. 

He  was  afterward  associated  with  Stephen  T.  Logan  until  1845,  and 
soon  afterward  foimed  a  co-partnership  with  William  H.  Herndon, 
which  was  only  terminated  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 

On  the  4th  day  of  November,  1842,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Todd,  of  Kentucky.  Theie  were  born  to  them 
four  sons — Robert  T.,  born  August  1,  1843  ;  Edward  Baker,  born  March 
10,  1846,  died  February  1,  1850;  William  Wallace,  born  December  21, 
1850,  died  at  the  White  House,  Washington,  D.  C.,  P'ebruary  20,  1862  ; 
Thomas  (“Tad”),  born  April  4,  1853,  died  at  the  Clifton  House,  Chi¬ 
cago,  Illinois,  July  15,  1871. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  died  at  the  home  of  her  sister,  Mrs.  Ninian  W.  Edwards, 
at  Springfield,  Illinois,  on  the  16th  day  of  July,  1882.  The  only  sur¬ 
viving  son  of  Abraham  Lincoln  is  Robert  T.,  who  resides  at  Chicago, 
Illinois,  and  is  President  of  the  Pullman  Company. 

I11  the  year  1846  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  to  Congress — Peter  Cart- 


13 


wright,  who  had  defeated  him  for  the  Legislature  in  1832,  being  his 
competitor  before  the  people  for  election.  At  the  close  of  his  term  in 
Congress  Mr.  Lincoln  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  His  love  for  jus¬ 
tice  and  fair  play  was  the  predominating  trait  in  his  character.  It  was 
not  in  his  nature  to  assume  or  to  bolster  up  a  false  position.  He  would 
abandon  his  case  first.  Probably  the  happiest  portion  of  Abraham  Lin¬ 
coln’s  life  was  in  traveling  over  his  circuit,  which  comprised  fourteen 
counties.  He,  with  other  lawyers,  traveled  over  this  territory  twice  in 
every  year,  and  it  was  during  these  pilgrimages  that  he  “cracked”  his 
jokes,  told  his  famous  stories,  met  the  people  and  was  heartily  greeted 
by  them. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  first  began  to  “  ride  the  circuit”  he  was  too  poor 
to  own  a  horse,  and  was  compelled  to  borrow  from  his  friends,  but  in 
due  time  he  became  owner  of  a  horse  which  he  fed  and  groomed  himself. 
On  this  horse  he  would  set  out  from  home  to  be  gone  for  weeks  at  a 
time,  with  no  other  baggage  than  a  pair  of  saddle-bags  containing  a 
change  of  linen.  The  lawyers  were  at  all  times  glad  to  see  him. 

In  his  debates  with  Stephen  A.  Douglass  in  1858  Mr.  Lincoln  earned 
an  enviable  reputation  as  a  popular  debater  which  was  never  denied.  In 
connection  with  his  speech  before  Cooper  Institute,  New  York  City,  on 
February  27,  i860,  The  New  York  Tribune  said:  “The  tones,  the  ges¬ 
tures,  the  kindling  eye  and  the  mirth-provoking  look  defy  the  reporters’ 
skill.  No  man  ever  before  made  so  deep  an  impression  upon  his  first 
appeal  to  a  New  York  audience.”  Mr.  Lincoln  closed  his  speech  with 
these  words  :  “Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes  might,  and,  in  that 
faith,  let  us  dare  to  do  our  duty  as  we  understand  it.” 

He  awoke  the  next  morning  to  find  himself  famous.  That  speech  pre¬ 
pared  the  way  for  his  nomination  as  President  of  the  United  States, 
which  came  to  him  on  the  eighteenth  day  of  May,  i860,  and  to  which 
great  office  he  was  triumphantly  elected  on  the  sixth  day  of  November  of 
that  year. 

O11  the  nth  day  of  February,  1861,  with  his  family  and  a  number 
of  personal  friends,  Abraham  Lincoln  left  his  home  at  Springfield  for 
Washington,  D.  C  ,  there  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  a  great  Nation 
during  years  fraught  with  tremendous  importance  to  the  Ship  of  State. 
There  were  most  pathetic  scenes  at  the  station  when  he  bade  ‘  ‘  good  bye’  ’  to 
his  friends  and  neighbors.  He  fully  realized  the  many  difficulties  and  dan¬ 
gers  confronting  him  when  he  said  “  And  I  hope  that  you,  my  friends, 
will  all  pray  that  I  may  receive  that  Divine  assistance  without  which  I 
cannot  succeed,  but  with  which  success  is  certain.”  As  always,  he  was 
sustained  by  his  trust  in  God  and  by  the  prayers  of  the  people  which  he 
had  thus  solicited. 

On  his  journey  to  Washington  he  was  everywhere  received  with  dem¬ 
onstrations  of  loyalty  such  as  had  seldom  before  been  displayed  to  man. 
He  addressed  the  assembled  populace  at  the  capital  cities  of  the  States  of 
Ohio,  New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  and  at  many  of  the 
chief  inland  towns  and  villages.  His  speech  at  Independence  Hall,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  was  most  eloquent  and  impressive,  and  was  delivered  on  the 
2 2d  day  of  February.  He  arrived  at  Washington  on  the  succeeding 
day  and  was  inaugurated  President  of  the  United  States  on  the  4th  day 
of  March,  1861.  He  was  serving  his  second  term  of  four  years  when  he 
was  shot  in  Ford’s  Theater,  Washington,  by  John  Wilkes  Booth  on  the 
night  of  the  14th  day  of  April,  1865.  He  was  carried  across  the  street  to 
the  “  Petersen”  home,  No.  516  Tenth  Street,  where  he  died  at  twenty- 


14 


two  minutes  after  seven  o’clock  the  succeeding  morning.  The  body  of 
the  martyr  President  was  borne  to  the  White  House,  and,  after  lying  in 
state  in  the  “  East  room”  and  later  at  the  Capitol,  was  taken  from  Wash¬ 
ington  on  the  2 1 st  day  of  April,  1865,  stopping  at  eight  places  enroute 
and  finally  arriving  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865. 

On  the  following  day  the  funeral  ceremonies  were  conducted  at  Oak 
Ridge  Cemetery,  and  there  the  remains  of  the  martyr  were  laid  at  rest. 

Nothing  should  be  omitted  or  neglected  to  perpetuate  his  fame  and 
memory,  and  to  keep  his  name  ever  before  succeeding  generations  of  his 
countrymen.  Many  of  his  utterances  have  become  classics,  and  the  un¬ 
studied  oration  at  Gettysburg  November  19,  1863,  has  been  translated  in¬ 
to  all  the  civilized  languages  as  an  enduring  example  of  pure  diction  and 
exalted  patriotism. 

“  With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the 
right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,”  this  mighty  force  moved  serene¬ 
ly  toward  fame’s  pinnacle,  himself  unconscious  of  his  growing  greatness. 
The  little  lad  with  his  charcoal  and  pine  slabs  learned  by  his  pine-knot 
fire  that  endurance,  patience  and  fortitude  which  in  maturity  expanded 
into  the  mighty  man,  Lincoln. 

i3._SONG— tenting  on  the  old  camp  ground. 

Words  and  Music  by  Walter  Kittredge.  Arranged  by  M.  F.  H.  Smith. 

If  convenient,  turn  down  the  -lights  while  singing. 

We’re  tenting  tonight  on  the  old  camp  ground  ; 

Give  us  a  song  to  cheer 
Our  weary  hearts;  a  song  of  home 
And  friends  we  love  so  dear. 

Chorus. — Many  are  the  hearts  that  are  weary  tonight, 

Wishing  for  the  war  to  cease; 

Many  are  the  hearts  looking  for  the  right, 

To  see  the  dawn  of  peace; 

Tenting  tonight,  tenting  tonight, 

Tenting  on  the  old  camp  ground. 

We’ve  been  tenting  tonight  on 
the  old  camp  ground, 

Thinking  of  days  gone  by, 

Of  loved  ones  at  home  who  gave 
us  the  hand 

And  the  tear  that  said  good¬ 
bye. — Chorus. 

We’re  tired  of  the  war  on  the 
old  camp  ground; 

Many  are  dead  and  gone 
Of  the  brave  and  true  who  have 
left  their  homes; 

Others  been  wounded  long. — 

Chorus. 

We’ve  been  fighting  today  on  the 
old  camp  ground; 

Many  are  lying  near; 

Some  are  dead  and  some  are  dy- 
incr 

1  llo  > 

Many  are  in  tears. — Chorus. 


i5 


14. — RECITATION — (F ive  persons) . 

No.  i. 

A  man  of  great  ability,  pure  patriotism,  unselfish  nature,  full  of  for¬ 
giveness  to  his  enemies,  bearing  malice  toward  none,  he  proved  to  be  the 
man  above  all  others  for  the  great  struggle  through  which  the  Nation  had 
to  pass  to  place  itself  among  the  greatest  in  the  family  of  nations.  His 
fame  will  grow  brighter  as  time  passes  and  his  great  work  is  better  under¬ 
stood. — U.  S.  Grant. 

No.  2. 

The  grave  that  receives  the  remains  of  Lincoln  receives  a  costly  sacri¬ 
fice  to  the  Union  ;  the  monument  which  will  rise  over  his  body  will  bear 
witness  to  the  Union  ;  his  endearing  memory  will  assist  during  countless 
ages  to  bind  the  States  together  and  to  incite  to  the  love  of  our  one  un¬ 
divided,  indivisible  country. — George  Bancroft. 

No.  3. 

Mothers  shall  teach  his  name  to  their  lisping  children.  The  youth  of 
our  land  shall  emulate  his  virtues.  Statesmen  shall  study  his  record  and 
learn  lessons  of  wisdom.  Mute  though  his  lips  be,  yet  they  still  speak. 
Hushed  is  his  voice,  but  its  echoes  of  liberty  are  ringing  through  the 
world,  and  the  sons  of  bondage  listen  with  joy. — Matthew  Simpson. 

No.  4. 

Oh!  Illinois,  we  took  him  from  your  midst,  an  untried  man  from 
among  the  people.  Behold,  we  return  him  a  mighty  conqueror.  Not 
thine,  but  the  Nation’s;  not  ours,  but  the  world’s!  Give  him  place,  ye 
prairies!  In  the  midst  of  this  great  continent  his  dust  shall  rest,  a  sacred 
treasure  to  myriads  who  shall  pilgrim  to  that  shrine  to  kindle  anew  their 
zeal  and  patriotism. — Henry  Ward  Beecher. 

No.  5. 

Now- all  men  begin  to  see  that  the  plain  people,  who  at  last  came  to 
love  him  and  to  lean  upon  his  wisdom  and  to  trust  him  absolutely,  were 
altogether  right,  and  that  in  deed  and  purpose  he  was  earnestly  devoted 
to  the  welfare  of  the  whole  country  and  of  all  its  inhabitants. — Ruther¬ 
ford  B.  Hayes. 


15.— TOAST  TO  THE  FLAG. 

By  W.  B.  Nesbit. 


Your  Flag,  and  my  Flag, 

And  how  it  flies  to-day 
In  your  land  and  my  land 
And  half  a  world  away. 

Rose  red  and  blood  red 
Its  stripes  forever  gleam, 

Soul  white  and  snow  white, 
The  good  forefathers’  dream. 
Sky  blue  and  true  blue, 

With  stars  to  gleam  aright 
A  gloried  guidon  in  the  day, 

A  shelter  through  the  night. 


Your  Flag,  and  my  Flag! 

And  Oh,  how  much  it  holds 
Your  land  and  my  land 
Secure  within  its  folds; 

Your  heart  and  my  heart 
Beat  quicker  at  the  sight, 

Sun  kissed  and  wind  tossed, 

The  red  and  blue  and  white. 
The  one  Flag,  the  great  Flag, 
The  Flag  for  me  and  you. — 
Glorified  all  else  beside, 

The  Red  and  White  and  Blue. 


i6. — SONG — THE  VACANT  CHAIR. 


Words  by  Henry  S.  Washburn. 

(Used  by  permission 

We  shall  meet,  but  we  shall  miss 
him; 

There  will  be  one  vacant  chair; 
We  shall  linger  to  caress  him 

While  we  breathe  our  evening 
prayer. 

When,  a  year  ago,  we  gathered 
Joy  was  in  his  mild  blue  eye; 

But  a  golden  cord  is  severed, 

And  our  hopes  in  ruin  lie. 

Chorus. 

We  shall  meet,  but  we  shall  miss 
him; 

There  will  be  one  vacant  chair; 
We  shall  linger  to  caress  him 

When  we  breathe  our  evening 
prayer. 

LEAD  TH 


Music  by  G.  F.  Root. 

S.  Brainard’s  Sons.) 

At  our  fireside,  sad  and  lonely, 
Often  will  the  bosom  swell 

At  remembrance  of  thestory 
How  our  noble  brother  fell; 

How  he  strove  to  bear  our  banner 
Through  the  thickest  of  the  fight 

And  upheld  our  country’s  honor 
In  the  strength  of  manhood’s 
might. — Chorus. 

True,  they  tell  us  wreaths  of  glory 
Evermore  will  deck  his  brow; 

But  this  soothes  the  anguish  only 
Sweeping  o’er  our  heart  strings 
now. 

Sleep,  today,  O  early  fallen! 

In  thy  green  and  narrow  bed; 

Dirges  from  the  pine  and  cypress 
Mingle  with  the  tears  we  shed. 

— Chorus 

U  US  ON. 


By  Isabel,  Worrell  Bale. 

Lead,  glorious  Flag,  encircled  by  our  love, 

Lead  thou  us  on — 

Tho’  skies  grow  dark,  and  stars  be  hid  above, 

Lead  thou  us  on. 

Keep  thou  our  hearts,  our  footsteps  guard  and  guide, 
In  peace  with  thee  may  all  earth’s  flags  abide. 

For  thy  red  stripes  heart’s  blood  hath  poured  like  rain. 

Yet  lead  us  on — 

A  million  men  for  thy  bright  stars  were  slain, 

Yet  lead  us  on. 

Lead  now  to  peace,  for  brighter  light  appears. 

Lead,  glorious  Flag,  thro’  all  the  coming  years! 


17. — RECITATION — (Six  Persons). 

No.  1. 

His  name  will  ever  be  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people,  as  green, 
as  fresh,  and  as  pleasant  as  is  to  the  eyes  the  tender  grass  springing  out 
of  the  earth  by  clear  shining  after  rain. — Gen.  Morgan  Dix. 

No.  2. 

He  did  not  seek  to  say  merely  the  thing  that  was  for  the  day’s  debate, 
but  the  thing  which  would  stand  the  test  of  time  and  square  itself  with 
eternal  justice. — James  G.  Blaine. 

No.  3. 

He  spoke  to  all  mankind  words  of  patriotism,  admonition  and  pathos 
which  will  continue  to  sound  through  the  ages  as  long  as  the  flowers  shall 
bloom  or  the  waters  flow. — Alexander  H.  Rice. 


i7 


No,  4. 

No  man  could  have  endured  so  much  without  some  recreation,  and 
humor  was  to  him  what  a  safety  valve  is  to  an  engine. — Hannibal 
Hamlin. 

No.  5. 

The  unwavering  faith  in  a  divine  Providence  began  at  his  mother’s 
knee,  and  ran  like  a  thread  of  gold  through  all  the  inner  experiences  of 
his  life. — J.  G.  Holland. 

No.  6. 

Studying  his  grammar  by  the  fire-light  of  a  log  cabin  when  a  boy,  he 

addressed  the  Senate  and  people  from  the  capital  of  a  great  nation. — 
James  Freeman  Clark. 

18.— LINCOLN  AS  A  HUMORIST. 

Mr.  Lincoln  is  possibly  the  only  ruler  of  earth  who  yielded  to  the 
seductive  influence  of  story  telling  while  wielding  the  scepter  of  power. 
He  was  not  like  some  men  who  could  not  appreciate  humor,  and  required 
a  surgical  operation  to  get  a  joke  into  their  heads.  In  no  sense  was  he 
vain  of  his  superb  equipment  as  a  wit  and  story  teller,  and  no  man  was 
readier  than  he  to  acknowledge  the  force  of  Shakespeare’s  famous  lines  : 

“  A  jest’s  prosperity  lies  in  the  ear 
Of  him  that  hears  it ;  never  in  the  tongue 
Of  him  that  makes  it.” 

His  stories  were  told  with  a  well-defined  purpose— to  cheer  the  droop¬ 
ing  spirits  of  a  friend  ;  to  lighten  the  weight  of  his  own  melancholy — a 
melancholy  that  was  constitutional  ;  to  clinch  an  argument  ;  to  expose  a 
fallacy,  or  disarm  an  antagonist.  We  have  all  met  with  people  who  in 
ordinary  affairs  seem  rational  enough,  but  as  soon  as  they  arise  to  ad¬ 
dress  an  assembly  all  reason  and  sense  seems  to  desert  them.  Mr.  Lin¬ 
coln  was  once  opposed  in  a  lawsuit  by  a  lawyer  who  belonged  in  this 
category.  It  reminded  him  of  a  story.  He  once  saw  a  steamboat  which 
had  an  engine  with  a  six-inch  boiler  and  a  nine-inch  whistle.  The  steam¬ 
boat  moved  along  all  right  until  it  blew  its  whistle,  then  the  locomotion 
ceased  altogether. 


It  is  related  that  a  gentleman  from  a  Northern  city  entered  Mr.  Lin¬ 
coln’s  private  office  in  the  spring  of  1862,  and  earnestly  requested  a 
pass  to  Richmond.  “A  pass  to  Richmond!”  exclaimed  the  President. 
“  Why,  my  dear  sir,  if  I  should  give  you  one  it  would  do  you  no  good. 
You  may  think  it  very  strange,  but  there’s  a  lot  of  fellows  between  here 
and  Richmond  who  either  can’t  read  or  are  prejudiced  against  every  man 
who  totes  a  pass  from  me.  I  have  given  McClellan  and  more  than  200,- 
000  others  passes  to  Richmond,  and  not  one  of  them  has  yet  gotten 
there  !” 


At  a  levee  at  the  White  House,  during  President  Lincoln’s  term,  the 
Russian  Ambassador  stood  talking,  to  the  President  when  the  President 
asked  him  this  question  :  “  Would  you  have  taken  me  for  an  American 

if  you  had  met  me  anywhere  else  than  in  this  country  ?” 

“  No,”  said  the  distinguished  muscovite,  who,  like  old  Abe,  was  a  bit 
of  a  wag,  “  I  should  have  taken  you  for  a  Pole.” 

“  So  I  am,”  exclaimed  the  President,  straightening  himself  up  to  his 
full  attitude,  “  and  a  Liberty  Pole  at  that.” 


1 8 


Gen.  Horace  Porter,  in  his  eulogy  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  said  that 
the  great  war  President  wasn’t  much  as  a  champagne  drinker.  The  Gen¬ 
eral  recalled  a  visit  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  City  Point.  On  his  arrival  the 
General  said  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  suffering  from  the  gastronomic  dis¬ 
turbances  incident  to  most  folks  who  have  sailed  on  rough  water.  “A 
young  staff  officer,  very  previous,  he  was,”  said  the  General,  “  grabbed  a 
bottle  of  champagne  and  thrust  it  toward  Mr.  Lincoln,  saying  that  that 
was  the  very  thing  he  needed.  ‘  No,  young  man,’  Mr.  Lincoln  said, 
‘  I  have  seen  too  many  fellows  seasick  ashore  from  drinking  that  very 
article.’  ” 


One  evening  during  the  last  week  of  his  life,  when  extremely  busy  and 
weary  as  well,  he  was  called  to  the  reception  room  to  see  Mr.  Speed,  then 
Attorney  General.  He  had  called  to  introduce  a  friend,  and  seeing  the 
weary  look  on  the  President’s  face,  he  began  to  apologize. 

“I  am  very  sorry,  ”  said  Mr.  Speed,  ‘‘very  sorry,  Mr.  President,  to 
disturb  you.” 

“Speed,”  he  replied,  “you  remind  me  of  a  story  of  Henry  Ward 
Beecher.  One  Sunday  as  he  was  going  to  preach,  he  saw  some  boys 
playing  marbles  in  the  street.  He  stopped  and  looked  at  them  very 
hard.  “  Boys,”  he  said,  presently,  “boys,  I  am  scared  at  what  I  see.” 

“Then,”  replied  one  of  the  boys,  “why  the  h — 1  don’t  you  run  away?” 


Soon  after  Mr.  Lincoln  went  to  Washington  he  attended  the  Foundry 
Church,  occupying  a  seat  within  the  altar  while  Bishop  Simpson  preached 
a  missionary  sermon.  After  the  collection  was  taken  at  the  close  of  the 
sermon,  and  as  the  congregation  was  about  to  be  dismissed,  an  irrepressi¬ 
ble  brother  rose  and  proposed  to  be  one  of  a  given  number  to  raise 
$100  to  make  President  Lincoln  a  life  director  of  the  missionary  society. 
The  proposition  was  put,  and  Brothers  A,  B  and  C  responded  glibly. 
But  the  inevitable  pause  finally  came.  Part  of  the  money  was  wanting. 
When  the  Bishop  announced,  “  Who  will  take  the  balance?”  the  pause 
became  slightly  oppressive.  Then  the  tall  form  of  Lincoln  was  seen  to 
rise,  a  long  bony  arm  was  extended  imploringly,  and  he  said,  “  Bishop, 
this  is  the  first  time  I  have  ever  been  placed  upon  the  auction  block. 
Please  let  me  pay  the  balance  myself,  and  take  me  down.” 


During  the  rebellion  an  Austrian  count  applied  to  President  Lincoln 
for  a  position  in  the  army.  Being  introduced  by  the  Austrian  Minister, 
he  needed,  of  course,  no  further  recommendation  ;  but,  as  if  fearing  that 
his  importance  might  not  be  duly  appreciated,  he  proceeded  to  explain 
that  he  was  a  count  ;  that  his  family  were  ancient  and  highly  respectable  ; 
when  Lincoln,  with  a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eye,  tapping  the  aristocratic 
lover  of  titles  on  the  shoulder,  in  a  fatherly  way,  as  if  the  man  had  con¬ 
fessed  to  some  wrong,  interrupted  in  a  soothing  tone,  “Never  mind  ;  you 
shall  be  treated  with  just  as  much  consideration  for  all  that.” 


“  Gentlemen,”  said  Abraham  Lincoln  to  a  delegation  of  citizens  who 
called  at  the  White  House  to  complain  of  the  President’s  omissions  and 
commissions,  “  suppose  ail  the  property  you  were  worth  was  in  gold,  and 
you  had  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Blondin  to  carry  across  the  Niagara  river 


19 


on  a  rope,  would  you  shake  the  cable  or  keep  shouting  out  to  him* 
‘  Blondin,  stand  up  a  little  straighter  ;  Blondiu,  stoop  a  little  more  ;  go  a 
little  faster  ;  lean  a  little  more  to  the  north  ;  lean  a  little  more  to  the 
south’  ?  No,  you  would  hold  your  breath,  as  well  as  your  tongue,  and 
keep  your  hands  off  until  he  was  safe  over.  The  government  is  carrying 
an  immense  weight.  Untold  treasures  are  in  its  hands.  It  is  doing  the 
very  best  it  can.  Don’t  badger  it.  Keep  silence,  and  we’ll  get  you  safe 
across.” 


While  Lincoln’s  humor  was  proverbial,  nothing  could  be  wider  of  the 
mark  than  to  represent  him  as  a  mere  “jester.”  His  humor  had  ever  a 
scintillating  point. 


iq._ GETTYSBURG  ADDRESS. 


Four-score  and  seven  years  ago  our 
fathers  brought  forth  on  this  continent 
a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men 
are  created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged 
in  a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether 
that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived 
and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We 
are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that 
war.  We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  por¬ 
tion  of  that  field,  as  a  final  resting  place 
for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that 
that  nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether 
fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this  ; 
but,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  can  not  dedi¬ 
cate — we  can  not  consecrate — we  can  not 
hallow — this  ground.  The  brave  men, 
living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have 
consecrated  it,  far  above  our  poor  power 
to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little 
note,  nor  long  remember  what  we  say 
here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they 
did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather, 
to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished 
work  which  they  who  fought  here  have 
thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather 
for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great 
task  remaining  before  us — that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion 
to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last 
full  measure  of  devotion — that  we  here 
highly  resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not 
have  died  in  vain — that  this  nation,  un¬ 
der  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  free¬ 
dom — and  that  government  of  the  people, 
by  the  people,  for  the  people  shall  not 
perish  from  the  earth. 


20 


3  0112  098546705 

2o.— SONG— GOD  EE  WITH  YOU. 

Words  by  J.  E.  Rankin. 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again! 

I3y  His  counsels  guide,  uphold  you, 

In  His  arms  securely  fold  you; 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again! 

Chorus. 

Till  we  meet!  Till  we  meet! 

Till  we  meet  at  Jesus,  feet; 

Till  we  meet!  Till  we  meet! 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again. 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again ! 

’Neath  His  wings  protecting  hide  you, 

Daily  manna  still  provide  you; 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again! 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again! 

When  life’s  perils  thick  confound  you; 

Put  His  arms  unfailing  round  you; 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again! 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again ! 

Keep  love’s  banner  floating  o’er  you, 

Smite  death’s  threat’ ning  wave  before  you; 

God  be  with  you  till  meet  again! 


2i.— BENEDICTION. 


